


If It Were You

by Renai_chan



Series: Ethos of Trust [7]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: ALL the innuendos, Insecure Tony, M/M, Multi, poor Howard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-14
Updated: 2013-03-14
Packaged: 2017-12-05 06:54:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/720125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Renai_chan/pseuds/Renai_chan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Tony is a little insecure about Steve and Bucky's relationship and Obadiah lays groundwork.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If It Were You

**Author's Note:**

> So there's a tiny bit in the way of plot here (you're going to see the direction I'm taking this series). No smut though, sorry (The three-way smut is taking a long time in coming. I'll try to make it worth your while). 
> 
> Unbeta'd because I don't want to bog Marie down with too many beta requests just yet, but hopefully the quality is passable ^^

Dum Dum cried— _cried!_ —when he caught sight of Bucky lounging against Steve’s shoulder while reading a book Tony gave him. It was a strange combination of hilarity and bitter sweetness to see a man of his age and stature do so, and Bucky only ‘awww’ed half teasingly and stood up to wrap him in a tight hug. Soon, the rest of the Commandos had joined together for one big group hug (Steve lifted his arm and beckoned Howard and Peggy into the group despite their initial protests), holding on to each other for a long time.

 

The sniffles and tears were manfully ignored until Morita so gracefully let out a loud snort that had the group devolving into guffaws and chuckles, forcing them apart. Each claimed a seat around the lounge, silent as they stared at Bucky, making sure he was really there and not a figment of their imagination.

 

“You kids from Brooklyn have all the luck,” Gabe complained teasingly, noting how Steve and Bucky still looked to be in the primes of their lives while everyone else was old and withered. Soft chuckles went round the room before it descended into silence once more.

 

“So… uhh…” Jacques said in his heavily accented English, gesturing hesitantly to the two of them. “Are you… uh…” The question trailed away, but the pair understood it anyway. Bucky glanced up at Steve who only grinned down. They weren’t above making their friends suffer for the information, so they only shrugged noncommittally.

 

“Tony’s not around?” Dum Dum asked casually in obvious feigned disinterest—as always, he was a _paragon_ of subtlety, and Howard had to hide a grin behind his hand.

 

“In the lab. He’ll be joining us in a bit.”

 

“Oh. Yeah. Good. That’s Good.” A third silence engulfed them until Falsworth rolled his eyes quite conspicuously and said rather loudly:

 

“What the rest of these nuts would like to know is whether or not you’re shagging Barnes again.” To that, Steve let out a loud bark of laughter, echoed by Bucky and Howard, that took a while to die down, and when it did, he pulled Bucky into a rough but quick kiss by the back of his neck. The smaller man moaned into his mouth softly because Steve’s kisses would never not turn him on before they both turned to their former teammates, one eyebrow raised to ask ‘does that answer your question?’

 

“You filthy son of a gun,” Morita swore lowly at Steve, a wide grin settling over his lips, and Steve laughed once more.

 

“I said it, din’t I?” Gabe said once more. “You kids from Brooklyn have all the luck.”

 

……………

 

It was well past 12 midnight when the others decided to either head home or retire to their guestrooms for the night. Their reunion had ended in another group hug, this time longer than the last, as though they were afraid Bucky would disappear again if they let him go.

 

Steve absently slipped his hand over Bucky’s as they walked through the hallway to the wing where the lab was. Bucky had been living with them for all of one week but even he knew they’d find Tony still there, working on one project after another. The younger sub hadn’t come up to the party after all, no doubt consumed by another invention or two.

 

Bucky looked briefly at their clasped hands and grinned up at Steve before pulling him down by the front of his shirt and planting a sweet kiss on his lips. They stopped for a long moment in the middle of the hall while Steve cupped the back of Bucky’s head and kissed him back, and when they had pulled apart, he wrapped his arms around Bucky’s shoulders while the other rested his forehead against Steve’s chest.

 

“I’m glad I got to see all of them again,” Bucky murmured.

 

“I think they were gladder to see you,” Steve answered. The sub nodded in understanding; they spent the better part of their lives thinking he was dead, while he spent that time asleep. They stood silent for a moment more before Bucky spoke up again.

 

“Come on. The kid’s been down there all day.” Steve chuckled and kissed Bucky’s forehead before tugging him further down the hall.

 

……………

 

Arms slithered around his neck, making him startle and nearly drop the soldering iron onto his lap. Thankfully, he managed to refrain from doing so and instead tilted his head as far back as it would go and shot a glare at his assailant who stood behind him. Bucky only laughed and bent over to give Tony an upside-down kiss which the younger man returned through a pout until he felt another hand caress his cheek. He pulled himself away from Bucky’s lips to ask for another kiss from Steve this time.

 

“Anything that can’t be put on hold?” the Dom asked after they had parted. Tony frowned thoughtfully at the scattered items around him, deciding which of them couldn’t wait, only to realize a moment later that it was he who couldn’t wait, so he set the soldering iron down.

 

“Nope,” he answered, leaning back into Bucky’s hold, but holding his arms out to beckon Steve closer. He was granted another kiss after a short chuckle then Steve hefted him up without any apparent effort. The much smaller man wriggled in his arms and burrowed into his chest as he often did when he allowed Steve to carry him.

 

“Spoiled,” the CEO teased gently after Tony had settled down. Tony glared at him before saying in his snottiest voice:

 

“Bedtime now. Come on. Chop chop.” Steve only grinned and kissed his nose.

 

“I could make you crawl to the bedroom, you know. Don’t be a brat.” A small noise of want left Bucky’s lips before he realized it did, and the two other men turned to him while a light blush dusted his cheeks. He coughed and looked away, but a knowing grin spread over Tony’s face.

 

“Not a threat, darling,” he said to Steve, sultry and mischievous at the same time. “You know how much I’d love to crawl for you.”

 

“ _Jesus_. Can we get to the bedroom first before saying things like that?” Bucky groaned. Both Tony and Steve laughed, and the older sub received a kiss from his Dom.

 

“Yeah, bedroom sounds good.”

 

……………

 

“Hey, dad,” Tony said, absently strolling into the older Stark’s office as he read through the blueprints in his hands. “So I was going over the Jerico with R&D and I’m thinking we can start setting a target date for production very soon. We’ve finished final testing and have to go over the production and financial details with Steve and Obi, but we should be able to get that date by the end of the month.” He looked up to see Howard set down the pen he was writing with when Tony came in. Howard waved him over impatiently and gestured at him to sit on the chair in front of his desk. He, however, only stared into his son’s face for a long enough time that Tony fidgeted uncomfortably.

 

“What’s wrong?” Tony finally asked with a small frown. Howard took in a visible, if silent, breath before he spoke.

 

“Tony, I admit that I haven’t spoken to you all that much in the last couple of weeks,” he said carefully. Tony nodded slowly.

 

“Yeah, I know. We’ve both been a bit busy. Was there something you wanted?”

 

“No, no. Nothing. I just—I only wanted to see how you’re doing. Maybe catch a bit of lunch? Talk about… things…?” Howard finished lamely.

 

“’Things,’” Tony repeated, his frown deepening slightly.

 

“Yeah. You know. R&D and Jerico and Rhodey and… Steve. You know. Things.” The older man shifted his gaze to the documents on his desk, shuffling them awkwardly before lifting his eyes back to Tony’s wide and suddenly amused ones.

 

“You want to know about Steve and Bucky and me,” Tony said, finally understanding the weird hesitance and awkwardness in his father. Howard’s eyes shifted away. “You want to know how we’re working out, don’t you?” His tone was becoming all too gleeful. “Did you want details, dad? Because—”

 

“No!” Howard gasped in almost horror. “No details, Tony. Don’t be crass.” Tony shut his mouth, but an amused grin still lingered. Howard glared at him before he sighed deeply. “Look, son. I only want to know if you’re being treated right. Steve’s my best friend—he’s a great friend and a great person, but with Bucky around I… I just don’t want to see you being treated like you’re second best. I don’t want you being hurt.” The grin on Tony’s mouth dropped away entirely, and his fidgeting returned anew.

 

“I’m fine,” he answered. “I am, dad, really. I don’t understand why everybody seems to think that Steve’s going to chuck me just because Bucky’s back.” He refrained from mentioning that he, too, thought of that. “I know, I _know_ that our relationship isn’t conventional—or ever been heard of for that matter—but Steve’s great and Bucky’s great and we’re fine together. We’re happy. I’m happy, okay?” His tone was sincere enough that it placated Howard almost entirely.

 

“Well, yeah. That’s okay—more than okay. That’s really good, Tone, I’m happy for you,” he said. “Just, you know, let me or your mom know if you aren’t, okay?” Tony smiled softly and nodded.

 

“Yeah, dad, thanks.”

 

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do about the press?” And then Tony suddenly blanched.

 

“Shit.” Howard sent him a wry grin.

 

“Yeah, ‘shit.’ Your little ménage a trios has been confined to the walls of my house and SHIELD for the past few weeks, but I don’t think you’re willing to keep Bucky hidden like a dirty little secret forever. I don’t think Steve or Bucky would allow it. So, what are you planning to do about it?” Tony covered his face with his hands and scrubbed at it furiously.

 

“They’re going to go apeshit, aren’t they?” Howard nodded solemnly. He sympathized with his son, really he did. The paparazzi were unbearable in the best of days, but their voracious appetite made them vicious when presented with a hint of scandal. Now, Steve Rogers, Stark Industries CEO and former Captain America, and Tony Stark, the brains behind the company, both of them media darlings separately and as a couple, were involved in the world’s first biologically viable three-way Dom-sub relationship. It wasn’t only the media that were going to go berserk, but the scientific community as well.

 

Howard frowned very slightly when a thought came up. The presence of the serum in Bucky, which was the thing that kept him alive all these years, and in Steve seemed to profess immortality. Coupled with the fact that it allowed the three-way bond to form, he was seeing potential threat to his friends’ safety. He took a mental note, reminding himself to talk to Nick about it. Steve and Bucky—and possibly Tony as well—were not and never will be lab rats for government-funded idiots.

 

“Well, there’s certainly no way you’re getting through this quietly, so I’d suggest just getting it over with. Rip the band aid off, so to speak,” he said after discarding those dark thoughts for the moment. “Set up an interview and photo shoot with a magazine and let the media wet themselves with glee. Give into the clamor; it’ll help kill the issue more quickly than if you continue to remain elusive.” Tony winced.

 

“Steve’s not going to like that. You know how he is about personal interviews. You’d think he wasn’t used to it by now,” he sighed and tipped his head back over the back of the chair with a groan. Howard cracked a smirk at his son’s plight. Steve was notorious against talking about his personal life with the media; Tony was going to have a _lot_ of convincing to do—and even more so with Howard’s next words.

 

“And make sure to talk with Happy about allocating some men to Bucky’s detail,” he added in feigned offhanded manner. Tony’s head suddenly shot up so fast that he winced. He narrowed his eyes at Howard’s innocent expression.

 

“You’re having too much fun with this,” he accused. “You _know_ he’s not going to agree to that. Hell, I’ve known him for all of—what? Two weeks? Maybe three, and _I_ know he’s going to put up shit about having security fuss over him.”

 

“Even _Steve_ has his own security detail, and he’s Captain America. In a pinch, he’d probably protect _them_ before they could protect him,” Howard pointed out.

 

“Steve is too nice a person to tell us to go fuck ourselves. Bucky has no such compunctions,” Tony answered and then groaned again before scrubbing his hands over his face again. “Why do I have such difficult boyfriends?” Howard suddenly let out a loud and sharp bark of laughter that went on for a good two minutes while Tony glared at him. Then Howard shooed him away, tears of mirth still in his eyes.

 

“Go on, pot. Go find your difficult boyfriends and get them to agree to my suggestions,” he said, chuckling a little.

 

“ _Tsch_. You say that as if it’s that easy. I’m not a Dom, dad,” Tony said as he rolled up the blueprints.

 

“Of course it is. Subs hold more power in a relationship than they’re given credit for. Just do your, you know—” Howard wriggled his hips a bit. “—sub thing.” Tony blanched.

 

“You did _not_ just shimmy your hips at me,” he gasped and then faked a retch. “You did not—I cannot—I think you’ve scarred me for life. Put me off sex for good. Steve will—” Howard threw a pen and hit him on the head.

 

“Out!”

 

Tony went, laughing all the way and drawing stares from his dad’s secretaries. He favored them with a wink and went in the direction of Steve’s office a little ways away. He draped himself over the edge of Darla’s desk and purred at her.

 

“Is Steve busy?” Darla smiled up at him.

 

“He has a visitor in there: one James Barnes,” she answered which made Tony frown.

 

“Really? When did he arrive?” he asked. Bucky didn’t mention coming over, nor did they let him know. Darla checked her watch.

 

“Maybe about an hour now?” Tony frowned some more. An hour ago he was in his office going over the blueprints. Bucky could have easily stopped by or Steve could have called for him. Something stirred in the pit of his stomach, but he shook his head slightly to ignore it. Maybe they just wanted some time alone; even he did from time to time. It was nothing, he was sure of it.

 

“Yeah okay. Let Steve know when they’re done that I’m with Obi going over the Jerico files,” he said instead and walked away stiffly with a last glance at the office doors. He was more subdued in the walk to the CFO’s office down several hallways. Obi’s secretary waved him in while buzzing Obi to inform him of his presence. Obi was on the phone when Tony walked in and made his way to the desk. He held up his index finger in the universal sign of ‘one moment,’ so Tony silently slouched down into the chair in front of the desk.

 

After that fight all those months ago, Tony was a bit more leery about expressing affection towards Obi—not because he felt any less affection for the man (even after all the trouble he caused), but because he didn’t want another repeat of that same trouble. Regardless of what he expressed, though, he still really liked Obi and sought him out when he needed a break from Steve or advice about one thing or another that Steve couldn’t provide. He’d known the man all his life, and during that time, was a great uncle-figure and friend to Tony, so it was rather hard to bear any ill will toward him.

 

“What’s up, kiddo?” Obi finally asked as he set the receiver down. Tony held out the blueprints for Obi to take and scan through before setting them down. “So we’re ready for production?” Tony nodded. “Great. Let’s go speak with Steve and set a date.” He moved to pick up the phone, presumably to call Steve’s office, but Tony stopped him.

 

“He’s busy. I told Darla to let him know to come find me here when he’s done,” he said, and Obi frowned.

 

“Too busy for you?” he asked. Tony shrugged.

 

“Bucky’s there. They need a bit of time alone, I think. I don’t think they’ve taken the time since all this to be alone, you know?” Obi sat back.

 

“Ah,” he remarked. “Well, that’s the pitfalls of having two subs I suppose, both needing all the Dom’s attention, but there’s only so much he can give each one, right?” Tony frowned slightly. “This is why nature intended for each Dom to have only one sub. Yours is a unique case, but unique isn’t always right is it?”

 

“Obi,” Tony said with a warning sigh. He was happy with Steve and Bucky, he really was. What did he care that he had to share some of Steve’s attention?

 

“Oh, I didn’t mean it that way, Tone,” Obi was quick to respond. “I’m sure Steve’s a good Dom. Just, you know, let me know if you need anything— _anything at all_ —okay?” Tony shot him a weak, if grateful, smile and nodded.

 

“Yeah, thanks, Obi.” The older man reached over and patted his hand before curling his hand around it and squeezing it once, and Tony didn’t mean to— _he didn’t!_ —but for a very brief moment, he wondered what it would be like if Obi were his Dom.

 

Obi did have a sub once, a boy a little older than Tony was now. He was thin and short and reedy and looked younger than his twenty five years of age. His hair was brown, and his eyes large and round, and he always spoke softly and respectfully. Tony had been fascinated by him because he seemed to be a model sub: obedient and pliant and meek. He did as Obi asked immediately and without question, and Obi favored him with praises and touches and smiles.

 

Growing up with the expectation that he’d turn out to be a Dom, he’d always imagined having a sub like that. Once it was found that he too was a sub, he strove to be the same kind of person for his Dom so that he too could receive the same praises and touches and smiles (Although he didn’t think he’d quite managed it just yet. Such was a side effect of having Howard Stark, whose personality was naturally brash and arrogant, as your father and Steve Rogers, who tended to spoil you more often than was strictly advisable, as your godfather-cum-Dom: you tended to be a mouthy little shit).

 

Obi’s sub, though, was involved in a tragic car accident caused by a drunken truck driver a few months before Tony’s sixteenth birthday. Obi had been in the same accident, but thankfully, he’d escaped almost unscathed with just some bruising on the head. The sub and the driver didn’t fare as well as he did: both had perished in the crash. Tony never did see Obi mourning after the funeral, but Obi was a strong man, so Tony didn’t doubt that he was able to hide his sadness behind his steely façade.

 

“Why did you never take on a sub after Aaron?” he suddenly asked, only out of curiosity. Obi’s eyebrows lifted in surprise then he shrugged.

 

“It’s difficult to find someone to replace that vacated space. It’s not as simple as going out into the clubs and picking whoever catches your eye. It has to be someone you feel emotionally connected to,” he explained, which was reasonable. Breaking a Dom-sub bond was jarring even in the best of circumstances; it was not farfetched to think that a replacement bond should be already well developed enough to fill that hole in your heart completely right from the start. “There was someone I did want after him,” Obi continued, sitting back with a wistful look in his eye. Tony leaned forward, his interest piqued.

 

“Really? What happened?” Obi turned to him slightly with a small smile.

 

“I lost to Captain America.” Tony jerked in his seat, startled.

 

“Oh,” was all he said though. Obi allowed a silence to stretch between them while Tony mulled on the thought. He sifted through the pages of the blueprints, jotting down notes while Tony sorted out the thoughts in his head.

 

The younger man thought of filling the silence with all the questions that were running through his head, but he thought about it more, once, twice, three times, and realized they were all “what if” questions, none of which would do any good if he asked them, so instead he slouched back down against his chair and allowed the silence to live on until about half an hour later, the door was thrown open.

 

Tony turned to see Steve striding in purposefully, his thunderous look softening only when he saw the three feet of space occupied by Obi’s desk in between the CFO and Tony. It was something akin to relief that passed his face, and he stopped beside his sub to rest a hand on his shoulder. Tony smiled up at him, but inwardly took note of the _slightly_ rumpled hair and creased shirt beneath the suit jacket.

 

“Have you discussed it?” he asked. Tony turned to Obi who answered easily.

 

“We were thinking sometime end of March. I’ll give you a list of dates that are optimal from my end and you can select the one that best fits everyone’s schedule.” Steve nodded tightly. “After that, we should set up a meeting with the generals and possibly conduct a demonstration before they end up dumping it on incompetents and blasting themselves off the battlefield.” Steve nodded once more and then gestured for Tony to stand; he could never seem to stay in Obi’s office for too long.

 

“See you later, kiddo,” Obi called out casually, and Tony gave his own goodbyes. It was only when they were back in Steve’s office, the door shut firmly behind them, that all the tension finally bled out of the Dom. Tony looked around but Bucky wasn’t there.

 

“What did you talk about?” Steve asked.

 

“Just the missiles,” Tony shrugged casually. He was a good liar—even to his own Dom—so Steve nodded and walked toward his desk.

 

“Okay. Give me a few minutes and we’ll go grab lunch, okay?”

 

“Yeah, sure,” the sub answered and made his way to the wet bar to pour himself two fingers of one of Steve’s finer scotches. “Where’s Bucky?” he asked as disinterestedly as he could. He sipped the scotch as he sauntered to Steve’s side. The Dom was furiously typing up a letter to the different departments concerned with the Jerico when Tony set the glass on the tabletop beside him.

 

“He went out to go see a couple of sights. He’ll meet us at home later,” Steve answered absently, so he didn’t notice that Tony fell to his knees beside him until he ran a hand over the inside of his thigh.

 

And then the typing stopped.

 

He looked down to see Tony looking up at him through seductively lowered eyelashes.

 

“Too bad,” Tony licked his lips. “I guess you’ll have to make do with just me then.” And Tony tried very hard not to let any insecurity slip into his voice. Steve caught him by the back of the neck and surged forward to lick the scotch right out of his mouth such that Tony melted into the kiss—it was so very hard not to—allowing Steve to take him however he wanted.

 

“You aren’t ‘just’ anything, baby,” Steve murmured when he finally pulled away, pressing his forehead to Tony’s. The sentiment tugged at Tony; Steve could always read between the lines.

 

“Yeah, I know,” he answered softly. And then because he didn’t want to make a bigger deal out of this than it had to be, he added, “Although I actually meant that I think it’s a travesty that the three of us haven’t had sex in here yet.” That made Steve laugh and kiss him again.

 

“I’ll see what I can do about that.”

 

……………

 

“STARK!” Bucky yelled, storming into the dining room as the family gathered for dinner.

 

“Yes?” both Tony and Howard asked. Bucky faltered slightly when he remembered his other lover too was a Stark, but he almost immediately recovered his glare.

 

“The older one,” he amended. “Grandpa Stark.” Howard looked affronted at the insinuation of his age.

 

“Well, unless Steve’s managed to knock up my son, I resent that,” he shot back tartly. Tony burst out into peals of laughter while Steve groaned into his palm.

 

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, dad, but having a cock isn’t conducive to bearing children—not that Steve has given up trying, but no,” Tony answered sweetly. Steve glared at him. “Please though. Do proceed.” Bucky ignored the younger man.

 

“ _Why_ do I have men following me around the city?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “B1 and B2 claim that you ordered them to ‘watch me.’ Why are they watching me?” Howard sat down primly and placed the napkin calmly on his lap.

 

“You’re a member of this family, Barnes, and by default that means you get bodyguards,” he answered evenly. Bucky faltered for the second time in the last ten minutes, and Tony could _see_ the thoughts that were running through his mind. Howard’s easy acceptance of their relationship must seem so strange to Bucky who had only spent a little under a month awake so far, so Tony couldn’t fault him. He’d soon come to know that Howard, despite all his apparent indifference to anything not business-related, as the media liked to suggest, was extremely protective towards his family. “Everyone here gets bodyguards, and nobody complains about it because I _said so_ , and I am still the head of this family.” Bucky was stumbling over the words that Tony could see forming on his mouth, so he took pity on the older sub.

 

“You don’t _have_ to have them,” he offered. Howard shot Tony a look.

 

“Of course he does. Now sit down and shut up, Barnes. The food’s getting cold.” Bucky frowned in thought but did as he was told, sitting on Steve’s left. The Dom smiled at him encouragingly then tucked into his meal. “Have you made any progress on what we talked about this morning, Tony?” Howard asked when they had settled into a comfortable silence. Tony grinned brightly and could suddenly see the regret in Howard’s face, so he spoke quickly before Howard could rephrase the question.

 

“Well, I didn’t do _this_ —” He undulated his body in his seat, drawing interested looks from Steve and Bucky. “—although I _could_ if certain people are interested.” He gave them both a wink while Howard groaned. Maria only laughed and patted his shoulder consolingly.

 

“It’s your own fault for feeding him openings, dear,” she said.

 

“For him, _everything_ is an opening! How can I _not_ feed them to him?” he nearly wailed. Tony snickered.

 

“Don’t worry, dad. Steve does his own fair share of ‘feeding’ my ‘openings.’” This time, Howard did wail and Tony and Bucky laughed uproariously before Steve shook his head, a smile on his face.

 

“Stop teasing your father, Tony,” he scolded his sub half heartedly. Tony beamed at him then turned back to his father.

 

“But I did take the general gist of your advice, dad, and got Steve to agree to the shoot,” he said, and then added. “I was very creative.”

 

“ _Very_ creative,” Steve agreed with a solemn nod. Howard only groaned some more and shook his head, but a smile was playing around his lips.

 

“I swear. One of these days, I will kick you out of this house so that I can live out the rest of my life in peace. You two—well, three now, I suppose—are a threat to my sanity,” he said, gesturing to them with the knife he held in his hand. Tony grinned smugly and accepted the bit of meat on Steve’s fork into his mouth.


End file.
